The European Loco-tour

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Dear friends of our older touring cars,

With this topic I like to share my recent experience with my Locomobile. Two weeks ago I finished a special trip which I call the European Loco-tour.

You can find a few videos about the tour on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsG3Iblabr3L2JRUDACpc6DAXml

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HMahSqhVM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOq2Mqy6Z8I&list=PLsG3Iblabr3L2JRUDACpc6DAXmln000Cz&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaR2z-u5oUc&list=PLsG3Iblabr3L2JRUDACpc6DAXmln000Cz&index=3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRhbTExKhxA&list=PLsG3Iblabr3L2JRUDACpc6DAXmln000Cz&index=4

 

Edited Wednesday at 07:41 PM by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

The crazy idea for this trip was born in May 2023, when I invited my friends for a Sunday-afternoon-trip with the Locomobile to a local coffee bar.

While sitting under the sunshade, enjoying coffee and cake while watching the Loco in front of the veranda, I suggested a tour to Italy in resemblance to the Harriet Fisher world-tour in 1909. To my surprise and delight, they agreed to join. We fixed the starting date to May 16th, 2024. One year for proper preparation sounds long but was necessary. I made a to-do-list for everyone. Later we met for the seat- and luggage-arrangement. Five adults with all related luggage in one car without a trunk can become tricky, you don't want to figure out solutions on the starting day.

Because I don’t like suitcases strapped to the running boards and scratching the paint, I manufactured the additional suitcase for the twin spare tires, see the other thread for that: https://forums.aaca.org/topic/396446-touring-equipment-for-your-locomobile-touring-car/

Edited August 31 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

The technical preparation and selection of tools and spare parts kept me quite busy. Again and again I got ideas for improvement, found better settings, adjusted and lubricated, cleaned, waxed and polished. The last item was a spare armature for the Berling magneto which I received a week before departure! I even invented a conversion kit for bypassing the magneto with a temporary battery ignition for the second set of plugs in case of repeated failures. I believe the saying “you always need what you don’t have on board”, therefore I used every little bit of space in the left and right tool boxes. Even soldering equipment and a vice which I can clamp to the running board fits inside! The original jack, cranking handle and wheel wrench are locked in their designated place. All other things had to be placed around: Oil, grease, puller, a spare valve and spring assembly, a spare float for the carburettor, several pullers, wooden blocks, …, a long list.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

The Berling Magnetos spare parts are safely located in the bottom of my new tire trunk.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

I tested the air compressor function and kept the hose connected, ready for usage. Actually I got used to filling the tank for the air horns every morning, which was very useful.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

The organisation required contacting several officials, such as museum directors, road authorities, hotels and various offices in advance. For an easy introduction of our idea to the relevant people and friends, I prepared this flyer with the text in four different languages: German, French, Italian and English. Please try to imagine these two pages printed on both sides of a glossy paper, then folded twice. It turned out really nicely and impressed many people before and during the trip.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

[Ittenbacher Frank]

We planned visits to the famous Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse (France), the biggest Italian car museum in Turin, the Rolls Royce Museum in Dornbirn (Austria), and several private collections. We wanted to stay in the most historic Hotels along the route and meet the horse-drawn Gotthard-coach on the way through the alps, too. All replied very positively after they received the flyer. Hotel receptionists even arranged safe parking locations for our Loco!

One week before the planned start date I contacted the Swiss road authorities. I wanted to make sure the old Gotthard pass had been opened after the winter closure. Unfortunately the reply was negative: They had stopped the road clearing because of too much new snow and many avalanches. Up to 8 m of snow on the St. Gotthard roads and a large landslide on the neighbour pass St. Bernadino!

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Many roads in that region were closed and the main traffic through the tunnel jammed every day. No way to have an enjoyable trip over the scenic mountain pass same as Ms. Fisher did! We were forced to delay our trip. The new date was set to two months later.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

I think the easiest way of presenting this trip is day by day. Let’s start with DAY ONE.

My daughter arrived by train the night before, and we got up at 6:00 on July 18th, 2024. We picked up our friends Renate and Kurt in Bonn at 8:00. Shortly afterwards, when we arrived at Ulis home, our friend Joachim with his 1953 Mercedes-Benz 170S was already there.

Edited August 16 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Now six people and two cars were complete, and we started our trip in south-west-direction through the Volcanic-Eifel-Mountains which is a region defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history, some areas are still volcanically active today. We stopped at one of Kurt’s Friends who’s garages are filled with many antique motorcycles, some with sidecars, even a 1918 Indian Powerplus is there.

 

 

 

Edited August 16 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Half an hour later we continued towards Luxembourg. Here we filled the fuel tanks. Then we followed the Mosel river with its beautiful valley into France. Nancy was one of the cities mentioned by Ms. Fisher in her book. Instead of using the conventional paper map, we tried google maps with the setting “no highway” and “no toll roads”. As a result, we used mainly very small roads, narrow and hilly, only countryside, through little villages and lots of forest, always accelerating and braking in between many bicyclists and tractors with trailers and the normal rural traffic. We hit the harvesting season. To our big surprise we found: The French maintain their roads (even these secondary roads!) very well and keep them nearly everywhere in good condition!

[Ittenbacher Frank]

In the late afternoon we reached the Vosges, which is a low mountain range in France with the highest elevation of 1424 m. Some hairpin-turns gave us a first impression of the coming days. At 8:00 pm we arrived at the hotel in Thann (close to Mulhouse), where our friends Doris and Peter were waiting for us already. They came from Marbach/Neckar (app. 180 miles) in their 1954 Citroen 11CV Traction Avant Legere. Now the group had grown to eight and we had a lot to talk about during dinner!

[Ittenbacher Frank]

This first day was the test for the Locomobile and the passengers: more than 320 miles during 12 hours on demanding roads with only a few short stops (in total perhaps 2 hours?) should reveal any weakness. But the Loco behaved perfectly, no oil, grease, water or air had to be added, and the complaints from my passengers were still acceptable. They all said that my daughter drives much more smoothly and comfortably than I do. After the first few beers, they started enjoying the tour, I just had to promise less miles for the next few days.

From the technical point of view, I can report: At an ambient temperature of approximately 30 °C (86°F), the engine cooling is no issue, but everything behind becomes really hot. For example the gear shift lever and the instruments. A water bottle standing on the front right floorboards became so hot, it felt like drinking tea. I think I will install a heat shield behind the exhaust downpipe (same as the 1924 model had), and I left the false dash at home because I didn't trust the electrics yet. Must put it back in place after the tour, it will protect the instruments. Wheel bearings and tires are all at normal temperatures. Brake bands are becoming quite hot when used hard but they still remain very effective. I will report more after descending the Gotthard pass.

Edited August 16 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

DAY TWO started with one of the tour’s highlights: we visited the Mulhouse Auto Museum (Musée National de l'Automobile) which has a really famous history: The National Automobile Museum houses one of the most beautiful automobile collections in the world with more than 450 exceptional cars. Their focus is on Bugatti. Founders were two brothers Hans and Fritz Schlumpf, textile industrialists who started hunting for antique cars in the 1950s, after having raced a Bugatti before. The collecting virus took over, they bought amazing treasures all over the world, sometimes a complete train load! In 1957, the Schlumpf Brothers bought an old wool mill where they installed their entire collection in a professional way, they even illuminated the lanes with original cast iron lamps from Paris. They had planned to open their collection to the public, but in 1976 they went bankrupt, the laid-off workers discovered the secret collection, and the affair came to light. The brothers flew to Switzerland. Before the collection was sold, the French government interfered. In 1982 it was opened as the "National Automobile Museum".

[Ittenbacher Frank]

On the way from the hotel to the museum, we filled fuel. Just now when sorting out the photos I realize the strange proportions between our giant Kurt, the Locomobile and other cars. By the way, Renate and Kurt had prepared T-shirts for our Loco-tour, which we used for this occasion.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 17 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Our Friends Peter and Juerg were already waiting for us at the entrance. They came with their 1925 Buick Master Six Sport Touring from the northern border of Switzerland. For the next one and a half days our group consisted of ten people and four cars.

The Loco-tour had been invited, so we had safe parking inside the yard, and the staff took good care of us. For the short drive from the meeting point to their yard, the director's assistant, the press lady and the photographer got a lift from Juerg and Peter in the Buick.

Edited August 17 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

I will not add my countless photos of all these great cars but just a few. You can find a lot of information online, or you come here yourself, it is absolutely fascinating. 

After your visit at this museum, you must think that Bugattis are mass-produced cars, a real commodity, because there are so many of them here, in all kinds of colours and shapes!

Edited August 17 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

A brand which impresses me more than others is Farman. This French manufacturer with British roots built airplanes and cars, some really exceptional designs. I learned from a book that they created some fast cars with aerodynamic bodies, and the chassis details were non-standard, too. Special suspension, an incredibly complicated steering linkage and four large brakes with servo-assistance in the early 20s! The museum displays even two and a half of these rare beasts: one 1923 Coupe Chauffeur A6B and one 1928 Limousine NF (New Farman), plus one complete engine with transmission.

Edited August 18 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Something that must be very strange for you Americans is the really small size of some of these french cars (and the Germans built similar little vehicles!). Kurt could perhaps sit in the back when the front seats were removed and the roof opened?

[Ittenbacher Frank]

After this impressive visit Juerg and Peter with the Buick led us to our hotel in Gipf (Switzerland), theoretically just 50 miles. But Friday afternoon, rush hour, very hot and crowded, twice we were diverted to the highway, traffic was just terrible around Basel. The Mercedes started overheating, needed a rest. Finally we reached our destination, had a nice dinner, afterwards we were invited to see Juerg's private museum, a real treasure cave: Very well presented with cars, a 1920s caravan (usually pulled by the Buick), motorbikes, scooters, a real race car, bicycles, toys, belt driven drill- and lathe machines, and so much more.

The Loco statistics for day two: 69.5 miles, easy.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

DAY THREE started with a good breakfast in Hotel Adler. Before leaving the hotel, the owners removed all modern cars and signs and asked us to take a nice photo there, which they will use for advertisement. Actually this photo also found its way into the local newspaper a few days later!

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Then we had a very enjoyable drive through the most beautiful areas of Switzerland: From the Aarau area along the Zuger lake to the Vierwaldstätter lake.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

At Lützelau we stopped, had a snack and watched Anna and Joachim swim in the lake. Now the trip started giving us a feeling of vacation!

Edited August 18 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

We were surprised to see a nice boat next to the restaurant: The "URI" was built before the second world war as a petrol-boat with two guns, retired in the 80s, restored several years ago and now a pleasure to look at and to listen to its large Palmer 300HP-V8 marine gasoline engine. The hull is made of aluminium, the deck is mahagoni.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

In the afternoon we followed the scenic route called "Axenstrasse" towards the mountains. Ms. Harriet Fisher had taken the same route. Next stop was at Ingenbohl where Ms. Fisher stayed overnight.  We just stopped here to take some pictures, including Miss Fisher's beloved Boston bull terrier "Honk-Honk", in our case as a photo on a pillow. The second dog "Jappy", who joined the Fisher entourage in Japan, sat in our Locomobile as a mascot on the front left windscreen frame. The last photo shows the original Honk-Honk.

Edited August 20 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

A bit later we reached the monument of Wilhelm Tell in Altdorf, a famous place, and once again we had to take photos with the dog as a reminder of the Fisher-tour. We had to hurry, because parking in front of the statue is not allowed. When the first of our group saw the police approaching, we quickly disappeared just in time.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Now the road climbed steadily to Amsteg, where we had booked rooms in the historic hotel "Stern-Post". It was firstly mentioned in 1357. In the middle of the 18th century it was the main station for the famous "Gotthard-coach" pulled by five strong horses, which sent passengers and mail over the Gotthard-pass. Since 1882, when the Gotthard-tunnel was opened, this regular coach-service was not required anymore. The old horse stables are used as bus-garage today, and I was allowed to park the Locomobile inside, which was a nice and fitting gesture. 

The famous German polymath and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed in this hotel at least three times!

 

 

Edited August 18 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

A really nice surprise was an edition of the local newspaper placed in our room, which includes a detailed report about our trip. This was one of the many results from my preparation of the flyers.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Our Swiss friends Peter and Juerg returned home the same evening, the remaining eight Loco-tourists enjoyed a five-course-dinner and had a very good night's rest.

From the technical side, day three was uneventful, just 85 miles.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Here is a link to a video made by my friend Christian: It is about Day one, the next parts will follow. This is the first trial. I just learned from Christian: You can activate the Subtitles and activate "English", it has been prepared alreaady. Enjoy!

 

Edited August 19 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

I hope you can find the setting for subtitles:

[Everitt]

What a wonderful trip and thank you for inviting me to see where you have gone.  I am so envious!  I think you should take your next trip here in the U.S. and we could all go.  Thanks again for the post and all of your past help.

Greg Lundeen

[Ittenbacher Frank]

DAY FOUR started with a delicious breakfast at our beautiful historical hotel in andermatt, at a height of 528 m (a bit more than 1700 feet) above sea level. It was raining when we loaded the cars, but we didn't care and believed the hotel owner's experience: The weather in the mountains can change very quickly. And really, after less than half an hour driving we met beautiful sunshine and this raised the chilly temperatures immediately.

We drove on the small old road and passed the villages Wassen and Göschenen, all of which are in the Swiss canton of Uri . On several occasions we could see the modern main road with its daily traffic jams. As you can see on the next photos, traffic jams were already available at the time!

Edited August 20 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Our first stop was at the famous devil's bridge which Harriet Fisher had described in her book. Here are some pages taken from her book which she published in 1911:

[Ittenbacher Frank]

The devil's bridge is located at the Schöllenen Gorge which has been formed by the glacier river Reuss. It 's at a height of 1414 m (4639 feet) and provides access to the St Gotthard Pass. The following two photos are from the internet.

Edited August 20 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

Enclosed by sheer granite walls, its road and railway require several spectacular bridges and tunnels. The most famous is the stone bridge known as the Teufelsbrücke ("Devil's Bridge"). A difficult footpath was the only passage through this gorge by the mid-12th century. The gorge was first opened up as a bridle path with the construction of a wooden bridge in ca. 1230. This was of great strategic importance because it opened the Gotthard Pass, with historical consequences both regionally and to the Italian politics of the Holy Roman Empire.
The original bridle path across Schöllenen was realised by means of a wooden ledge attached to the rock wall, and a wooden bridge across the gorge. After its collapse in the 18th century, it was supported by hanging chains.
In later years a legend developed which attributed the construction of the bridge to the Devil. The name "Devil's Bridge" was first recorded in 1587. The legend said: the people of Uri recruited the Devil for the difficult task of building the bridge. The Devil requested to receive the first thing to pass the bridge in exchange for his help. To trick the Devil, who expected to receive the soul of the first man to pass the bridge, the people of Uri sent across a goat, and the goat was promptly torn to pieces by the Devil. Enraged at having been tricked the Devil went to fetch a large rock to smash the bridge, but, carrying the rock back to the bridge, he came across a holy man who "scolded him" and forced him to drop the rock, which can still be seen on the path below Göschenen.

(the photo is from the internet. We didn't visit this rock)

Edited August 20 by Ittenbacher Frank (see edit history)

[Ittenbacher Frank]

In 1595, the wooden bridge was replaced by a stone bridge which came to be known as Devil's Bridge. A new road, including a tunnel with a length 200 ft replacing the bridge was finished in 1708. The tunnel, known as Uri Hole, was the first road-tunnel to be built in the Alps. A replacement cut stone bridge was built from 1820 till 1830. This new bridge allowed single-lane motorized traffic, potentially opening the Gotthard Pass to automobiles. Following its construction, the old Devil’s bridge was no longer maintained and was allowed to collapse, which finally happened in 1888.

[Ittenbacher Frank]

At the time Miss Fisher travelled on this road, the horse-drawn coaches were the typical vehicles, as shown in the first old photo. In the late 1940s, when automobile traffic was already well established, the spot looked like shown on the second old photos: The building in the center of the turn is today's souvenir shop!

[Ittenbacher Frank]

In September 1799, the devil's bridge became one of the sites of the battles at the Saint-Gotthard, and one of the most dramatic battles of Suvorov's Italian and Swiss expedition during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. We saw one painting on the wall of the souvenier shop which is located at this spot, where the tourists can visit the old bridge and beautiful scenery.